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The Lake
Wobegon Effect Isaiah 59; Romans 3:9-20 I. PAUL’S
PORTRAIT OF JEWS AND GENTILES
(Romans 3:9-19) A. Paul’s portrait of the:
C. Paul’s point is that the demands of the law offer no hope of salvation to sinners. 1. If God, the perfectly holy and just Judge is going to declare us righteous, then it must be on a basis other than the law. 2. If we are going to heaven then it’s not because of our good works (we’re liars at heart and before God our mouths are shut). D. Is Paul’s emphasis on universal sinfulness in Romans 3 a bit excessive? 1. In Romans 1, Paul goes into detail about God’s wrath and Gentile unrighteousness. 2. In Romans 2, Paul goes into detail about Jewish unrighteousness. 3. In Romans 3, Paul lumps them Jews and Gentiles together and he draws a single portrait showing how they look alike under the law. E. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Daniel 10:10-13; John 8:44-45; cf. Isa.24:21; Jer.46:25; 1 Cor.8:5; 10:20). II. THE LAKE
WOBEGON EFFECT: “ALL THE WOMEN ARE STRONG, ALL THE MEN ARE
GOOD-LOOKING, AND ALL THE CHILDREN ARE ABOVE AVERAGE.” A. Schools/states
have a hard time looking at how their students are really performing. “God is alive and very well. But right now in America, fewer people are
listening to what God has to say than ever before. Ninety percent of the people we questioned
said that they truly believe in God.
It would be the logical conclusion then to think that God is a
meaningful factor in today’s America.
But we reached a different conclusion when we dug deeper with our
questions. In every single region of
the country, when we asked how people make up their minds on issues of right
and wrong, we found that they simply do not turn to God or religion to help
them decide about the seminal or moral issues of the day” (James Patterson
and Peter Kim, The Day America Told the Truth, 199). B. 90% of building
and technology projects cost more than estimated. C. In churches today, people/pastors make prophecies that never come true. But this doesn’t bother most of the “faithful” (e.g. October 22, 1844 – the “Great Disappointment”). D. We like
to think that our favorite presidential candidate will make all the
difference in the world but we are probably looking at things through
rose-colored glasses. Recent studies
indicate that the rational parts of our brains are inactive when it comes to
political bias (Confirmation Bias). E. It’s hard for me coming to
grips with the fact I’m thirty… F. Take a good and honest look at: ü Your life ü God’s law ü God’s wrath ü God’s righteousness ü Jesus’ life, death and resurrection QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION Take what you have learned
this morning and pray that God would enable you to look honestly at your life
so that you can look to Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, “ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full
acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the
worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). What was the title of this
morning’s sermon and why? Describe Paul’s portrait of
the Jew AND Gentile in Romans 3:9-18. Is Paul’s emphasis upon
mankind’s sinfulness excessive? Why does Paul spend so much
time describing how we measure up to God’s perfect standard? Why do we have such a hard
time honestly looking at ourselves? Who is the “god of this age”
that has blinded unbelievers? (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) Can you list any ways in which
the “Lake Wobegon Effect” (wishful thinking) has affected our society? The Church?
Your workplace? Your home? Your finances? Yourself? Why is it important for us
to take an honest look at ourselves? |
